Citicoline (CDP-Choline)
One of the best-studied nootropics, whose largest trial said no and whose smaller ones keep saying maybe.
C+
Evidence grade
C
Worth it
$20-35/month
Typical cost
DoseTrials used 500 to 2,000 mg/day; cognitive-aging studies center on 500 to 1,000 mg. Citicoline delivers choline plus cytidine (a uridine source), which is its pharmacological distinction from cheaper choline salts like bitartrate, whose cognitive file is emptier still.
BasisCiticoline is a serious compound with a serious file: decades of trials, a plausible membrane-phospholipid mechanism, positive signals in aging cognition, and one large definitive null where it mattered most (acute stroke).
Citicoline is a choline donor and phosphatidylcholine precursor used as a drug in parts of Europe and Japan for stroke and cognitive impairment, and sold in the US as a supplement for focus and memory. We grade Citicoline (CDP-Choline) C+ on evidence and C for worth-it at about $20-35 per month.
What it does
Citicoline is a choline donor and phosphatidylcholine precursor used as a drug in parts of Europe and Japan for stroke and cognitive impairment, and sold in the US as a supplement for focus and memory. It anchors the choline corner of the Asprey stack that seeded this extension.
What the research says
Older trials and reviews found memory benefits in aging and vascular cognitive impairment; the big modern stroke trial was neutral
Evidence: emerging. A Cochrane review of CDP-choline in elderly patients found modest memory and behavior benefits across old, small trials. In acute stroke, early meta-analyses were hopeful, then the ICTUS trial (2,294 patients, 2012) found no benefit on recovery, which is the result that governs. Trials in vascular cognitive impairment (the Citadel program) show small positive signals. The composite: a genuinely studied compound whose best modern answer is 'not for stroke' and whose cognition case rests on aging studies of modest rigor.
Small attention studies in healthy people are preliminary
Evidence: weak. A trial in healthy women (McGlade) and one in adolescent males reported attention and psychomotor improvements at 250 to 500 mg/day. Small samples, short durations, some industry support: hypothesis-generating, not a basis for the healthy-user marketing now attached to this ingredient.
Citicoline is a serious compound with a serious file: decades of trials, a plausible membrane-phospholipid mechanism, positive signals in aging cognition, and one large definitive null where it mattered most (acute stroke). The healthy-user market runs ahead of its two small studies. C+ for depth of investigation with mixed verdicts, the grade this library gives a well-tested maybe.
Is it worth it?
Evidence (C+) sits below the leaderboard floor, so the worth-it grade is capped at C+ however inexpensive it is; the derived value lands at C, reflecting a mid-range price against mixed evidence. About $27 a month at studied doses. Derived from the October 2026 worth-it model.
Typical cost
$20-35/month
Common form, not a brand recommendation
Dosage context established
Trials used 500 to 2,000 mg/day; cognitive-aging studies center on 500 to 1,000 mg. Citicoline delivers choline plus cytidine (a uridine source), which is its pharmacological distinction from cheaper choline salts like bitartrate, whose cognitive file is emptier still.
Worth-it leaderboard
Citicoline (CDP-Choline) sits outside the worth-it top 20.
Citicoline (CDP-Choline) sits outside the current top 20 on the gated leaderboard. The leaders below clear an evidence floor of B- before price counts at all, so cheap alone never earns a rank.
- 1AWorth itCreatine evidence A-~$5-10/mo
- 2AWorth itCaffeine evidence B+~$5-10/mo
- 3AWorth itVitamin D evidence B~$5-8/mo
See the full worth-it leaderboard →
When the evidence moves a grade, this ranking moves with it. Thursday is where you hear it first.
Safety notes
Excellent tolerability across large trials; occasional headache, GI upset, and restlessness. No major interactions documented. Its safety is not the constraint on its grade; its efficacy file is.
Longevity Lab Report
Citicoline (CDP-Choline) news. Graded when it happens.
The grade on this page stays free. The email carries the news on citicoline (cdp-choline): expert moves, dose changes, and what is working, in plain English every Thursday.
Changelog
Last updated 2026-10-23
- 2026-10-23|Graded from the ICTUS stroke trial, the Cochrane elderly review, and the vascular-cognition program. Citicoline's file is larger than most of this extension's; the record weights the largest and most rigorous trial heaviest, which is how the grade lands where it does.
- 2026-10-23|Listed under cognition, matching this record's graded findings.
The week's longevity and biohacking news.
This grade for Citicoline (CDP-Choline) rests on the record above. When a new result changes that record, the grade changes with it, and the Thursday email is where the change lands first: the week's longevity and biohacking news, in plain English, linked back to the reasoning on this page.
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Every grade follows a published rubric, and sponsors never change one. When the evidence moves a grade, Thursday is where you hear it first, before you renew a stack that stopped earning its cost.